Dancing for Runners!

There’s yoga for runners, pilates for runners, HIIT for runners. How about dancing for runners?

Here’s a secret. There was a time when I’d play those dance videos instead if I am not able to run. Either it is raining outside or I just got lazy. I would play my Hip Hop Abs or MTV Grind DVDs. They would last from 30 to 45 minutes and were effective to build endurance while preparing for my 5K and 10K races.

I thought I am the only who dances while training for a run. But recently, a Japanese elite runner was able to qualify for the London Olympics with the help of curvy dancing — a new dancing fad in Japan created by Hiromi Kashiki.

Arata Fujiwara run a PR of 2:07:48 during the Tokyo Marathon and earned a spot on Japan’s 2012 Olympic Marathon team.

Hiromi Kashiki, the creator of the popular dance style based on highly suggestive hip-gyrating movements, says Fujiwara, who visited her studio for a one-on-one workout the day before last month’s Tokyo Marathon, is a natural.

“When I first saw Fujiwara, I noticed his pelvis was going up and down, left and right – it wasn’t very stable,” she told Reuters in her Tokyo dance studio.

“I tried to make sure his pelvic area was more relaxed – removing wasted energy to release that explosive power.”

Fujiwara said: “Up till now I’ve been really bad at using my hips effectively. After I got some lessons from Kashiki and her curvy dancing my running style dramatically improved.”